Improvement in the mode of



lUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN ERICSSON, OF SVEDEN.

IMPROVEMENT IN THE MODE OF APPLYIMG STEAM-POWER TO`LOCOMOT1VES, &c.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 1,@47, dated November 5,1840.

To all whom it 11M/,y concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN ERICSSON, a subject of` the King of Sweden,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Application ofSteam-Power to Locomotive Purposes and Steam Navigation; and I do herebydeclare that the tollowin g is a full and exact description ot' theconstruction and operation of the said improvement-s in locomotive andsteam navigation invented by me.

This invention, which I name as above, consists for locomotive purposesbin giving motion to the driving-wheels of the locomotive-carriage bymeans ot two pistons performing partial rotary and reciprocatingmovements Within two halt-cylinders placed horizontally side by side,the axes or shaft-s to which the said pistons are attached and which'form their center of motion being made to pass through stufingboxes inthe covers of the said haltcylinders and extending in oppositedirections beyond the outside frame of the carriage, the ends of theseshafts being provided with crank-levers, which, by means otconnecting-rods and pins, are connected to circular disks or cranksfixed on the outer ends of the shaft or axis ot the driving-wheels; andfor steam navigation my 1 said invention consists in applying, in themanner hereinafter described, pistons of a reciprocating and partialrotary movement working within halt-cylinders for the purpose of givingmotion either to ordinary paddle- Wheels or to spiral stern-propellers.

In the drawings hereto attached, Figure 1 represents a side elevation,and Fig. 2 plan, of a locomotive-carriage on my improved construction,drawn to a scale of half an inch to a toot. Fig. 3, which is drawn to ascale oftwo'inches to a foot, represents a transverse section ot' thetwo half-cylinders and pistons. I will first proceed to describe thisfigure. A and B are two halt cylinders secured by screws to a bridge orabutment piece C, made of cast-iron. D d are axes or shafts passingthrough stuffing-boxes in the covers of the cylinders, and to whichshafts square pistons E E are attached. The said stuffing-boxes,

c as well as the packings of the pistons, will be vhereinafterdescribed. F F are square metallic rods inserted into grooves made inthe abutment-piece. These rods are made to press against thepiston-shaft by means of springs, in order to prevent any steam fromescaping round the same. Gr is an ordinary slide-valve for admitting thesteam through the passages d d alternately on opposite sides of thepiston of the cylinder A. Behind the -valve G is a similar valve placedwithin the common slide-box H, which slide, through passages similar tod a, admits the steam alternately on opposite sides of the piston of thecylinder B. I is a'cavity made in the abutment-piece, into which andthrough the eduction-pipe J the steam escapes into the atmosphere. K isthe induction-pipe admitting steam into the slide-box. L is a spindleand lever for giving motion to the slide-valve in the usual manner.

I will now proceed to describe Figs. l and 2, in which similar lettersof reference denote similar parts as in Fig. 3.' A and B are thehalf-cylinders, and M M the stufiing-boxes in the cylinder-covers,through which the piston shafts or axes D and d pass. N and O arecrank-levers placed at right angles to the pistons and firmly fixed atthe opposite ends of the piston-shafts D and (Z. n o are crankpins fixedin the said levers. yI and Q are circular plates or disks iirmly iixedto the ends ot' the axle of the driving-wheels R R. p and q are what iscommonly called crankpins, of a globular form, fixed at right angles toeach other in the circular plates. The crank-pins n and p and thecrank-pins 0 and q are connected by means of ordinaryconnecting-rods,'tl1e center lines ot which are marked in red lines. xedin the outside framing of the carriage for supporting the piston-shaftsD and d. s S are keys for adj usting the same. T T are eccentriccircular bosses on the inside of the circular plates, to whichordinarystrapsand slidegear is attached forgiving motion to the twoslide-valve spindles. One of these spindles L is shown on the elevation.U is a lever, attached to the piston-shaft D, for working a force-pumpfor supplying the boiler. I have now to state that the position of theeccentric bosses T T with regard to the crank-pins p q should be similarto the eccentrics of ordinary steam-engines and likewise the gear workfor communicating the motion ot' the eccentric bosses to theslide-valves G; and I S S are bearing-brasses,

' rod K.

have also to observe that the relative position of the driving-shaft andthe cylinders should be such that a straight line drawn through theextreme points of motion of the centers X and Y, Fig. 3, of thecrank-pins n and o should pass through the center of the driving-shaftZ. VVth regard to the operation or motion of the machinery it becomesevident that when steam is admitted into theslide-boX I'I and thealternate movem ent given to the slide-valves a reciprocating and partlyrotary motion will be given to the pistons and their shafts, and therebya vibrating motion to the crank-levers N and O. The eX- tent ofvibration is marked by red dotted lines in Fig. 3. These crank-leversbeing connected to the pins p and q, which are placed at right angles toeach other, it follows that a continuons rotary motion will be given tothe driving-Wheels of the carriage.

' Having thus described the nature of my improvements in the applicationof steampower to locomotive purposes, I Will now proceed to describe myimprovement in the application of that power to steam navigation.

y to a foot, represents part of the longitudinal section of a Steamship,with a side elevation of the machinery of my improved construe tion.

In order more clearly to exhibit the various parts, it will be seen thatin Fig. 4 the exterior View of one half ofr the machinery is shown,whilethe other half is shown in section. A and B are two half-cylinderssupported by strong cast-iron frames C C by means of strong lugs c cprojecting from the end covers of the cylinders and rmly bolted to theframes. D and F. are the piston-shafts, to which radial vibratingpistons, as before described, are attached, e being the piston attachedto the shaft E. a a are plummerblocks or bearings attached to the framesC C for carrying the piston-shafts, and 7o 7c are keys for adjusting thebearings. F F are the top covers of the cylinders, and f is one of themetallic rods for preventing any escape of steam round the shaft. G isan airpump constructedupon the same principle as the .steam-cylinders,with a similar vibrating piston. (Shown by dotted lines on thedrawings.) H is a condenser with a rose-jet h, similar to those used incommon condensing engines. I is the suction-valve, and t' the valvecommunicating to the hot-well J. g is a crank-lever attached to thepiston-shaft of the air-pun1p,`and cl is another crank-lever attached tothe end of the piston-shaft D. These crank-levers give motion to thepiston of the air-pump by means of a connectingl Z are thesteam-passages, and L the educt-io11-valve by which the steam isalternately let into the condenser. This valve, as well as the induction-valve, may be constructed upon the usual plan adopted in condensingengines and Worked by ordinary gear communicating with the main shaft. Mand N (shown by dotted lines in Fig. 4) are crank-levers fixed to theends of the pistonshafts. The extent of the motion of these crank-leversis marked by red lines in Fig. 4t. 0 isthe main orpaddle shaft, whichpasses through the stern of the ship, its outer end being supported by avertical post P of wrought-iron,which also carries the rudder. This postis fixed at the top to the upper part of the projecting stern, its lowerend being secured to the keel by means of pro j ecting timbers and ironplates firmly bolted thereto. Q is a spiral propeller or series ofspiral planes attached to the main shaft. R is a strong cast-iron frameattached to the frame C, firmly bolted to longitudinal timbers at thebottom of the ship. This frame carries the outer ends of thepiston-shafts D and E, as well as the main shaft O. S is a circularplate of cast-iron firmly attached to the main shaft. s is a crank-pin:fixed in this circular plate, and which pin, by means ofconnecting-rods U and V, is connected to the pins m and n of thecrank-levers M and N. I have here to observe that the relative positionof the cylinders and the center of the main shaft should be such thatstraight lines drawn through the extreme points of motion of the centersX and Y of the crank-pins m and n should intersect each other at rightangles in the center of the main shaft, as shown by the red lines inFig. 4.

Fig. 6, drawn to a scale of one-fourth inch to a foot, represents a planor top View of the engines. have been before described. I have thereforeonly to observe that similar letters of reference denote similar partsas in the foregoing Figs. 4c and 5.

Fig. 7 represents the side view of one of the pistons, and shows themode in which they are made to form steam-tight joints with thecylinders, as well as the Inode of preventing the steam from escaping atthe places where the piston-shafts pass through the end covers. A is thepiston-shaft, and B the piston. The dotted lines marked round it showthe form of metallic rods and angle-pieces inserted beA tween the sideplates of the piston. (Better seen at Z in. Fig. i). These angle-piecesare pressed toward the side of Athe cylinder by springs similar to thoseused in ordinary me ftallic pistons. C is a ring of gun-metal, which Allthe parts shown in this View V denser in the usual manner, a continuousrotary motion will be given to the circular plate S by means of thecrank-levers, pins, and connecting-rods before described, for it isevident that when one connecting-rod is in adi;I rectline with thecenter of t-he crank-pin s and the center of the main shaftthe otherconnecting-rod will be placed nearly at right angles to the crank-pinand the center of.the main shaft. l

Now, it is evident that by changing the posit-ion of the crank-levers onthe pistonshaft the main shaft may be placed above the center of thesteam-cylinders as much as itis placed below the saine in Fig. 4, and itis evident that by placing the cylinders tran sversely in the vesselinstead of longitudinally, motion may be given to a common paddle-shaftin the manner before described, whether the cylinders are placed abovethe shaft, as in Fig. 4, or below the same to an equal degree, or insuch position with regard to the shaft as shown in Fig. 3.

Having thus fully described the nature of` my invention, and shown themannerin which I carry the same into operation, I do hereby declare thatI do not claim to be the inventor of steam-engines having radial pistonswhich vibrate or perform partial rotary movements within semi-cylindersor other segments of cylinders, such engines having been before knownand used; but

Wha-tl do claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

l. The propelling of a locomotive-carriage by the combining of twosemi-cylinders, each furnished with radial pistons, which pistonsvibrate within them, said semi-cylinders being placed on a level witheach other, and the shafts or axes of their radial pistons extendingthrough the cylindrical covers in opposite directions beyond the sidesof a locomotivecarriage, and having crank-levers attached to their outerends, which crank-levers are oonnected by suitable rods to crank-pins onthe driving-wheels, the respective parts being combined and arrangedsubstantially in the manner herein set forth.

2. The employment of the same apparatus for the driving of thepropelling or paddle wheels of such vessels as are propelled by thepower of steam, the general arrangement and operation of the respectiveparts being substantially the same with those by which said combinedsemi-cylinders are adapted to the propelling of locomotives, With suchvariations of arrangement only as are required by the nature of thecase, and as herein fully pointed out and made known.

3. The combining of the double -acting semi-cylindrical air-pump with mydouble semi-cylinder steam-engine, constructed and arranged as hereinset fort-h, said air-pump having a radial vibrating piston, and theselfacting valves I and c', and being arranged and connected with theother yoperating parts of the engine, substantially as herein described.

J. ERICSSON. Witnesses:

Tiros. P. J oNEs, W. THOMPSON.

